You are 2 years old and you hear music. You must dance or at least bounce repeatedly.

You must stand in your combo “ballet/tap/gymnastics” class every Saturday morning with 10 other little girls in black patent leather tap shoes and smack your toes as hard as possible on the floor – repeatedly.

You must spin in circles until the teacher picks you up and sets you dizzily on your feet – repeatedly. Hopefully before you spew pancakes on your classmates.

And you must dance for anyone who will sit still and watch you, even if only for a second.


Most of this is still true for me and I’ve been dancing for almost 50 years.


I don’t know how to stop dancing. I don’t want to. I love feeling surrounded by the music and knowing how to move with it (sometimes this still involves bouncing).

I feel beautiful, usually, when I’m dancing. And that is a rare, magnificent thing.


I actually can still pull out a triple pirouette on most days and can kick past my head. Although this is nothing compared to “before.”


“Before” I held my own with some of the best dancers in the world. I miss that, although I’m stunned I ever got to dance at all.


A person who has never danced, has never lived. This is absolutely true.

I have truly lived, have a couple of scars from it, and a couple of parts that don’t work anymore as a result, but during the “truly living” I had more fun than should be allowed.

Without further expanation, I give you The First Reason to Dance: Because you must.

Anyone else have a good reason to dance?

The second reason to dance that I know of is: coming in the next entry.